Tags:

Did you know that Jeremy Lin and Jordan Clarkson made NBA history a few nights ago? When Lin and Clarkson suited up together against the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was the first time that an Asian-American back court started an NBA game together.

We’re all well-aware that Lin is Asian-American, but did you know that Clarkson was also Asian-American? It didn’t take much digging to discover that Clarkson’s mother Annette is full Filipina and his father Mike is African-American.

Clarkson does look as if he is of mixed-race, but I never thought much of the composition; wrongly assuming that Clarkson was a Caucasian-African American child. Much like a growing number of other players in the league: Blake Griffin, Klay Thompson, Zach Levine, Austin Rivers, Devon Booker and Aaron Gordon.

What Does Hapa Mean?

Instead, Clarkson is Hapa a pidgin word of Hawaiian origin primarily used to describe mixed-race people, usually half white and half Asian because it was the most common.

“I’m a part-Filipino and I’m looking to be the first or one of the Filipino-Americans to play in the NBA,” said Clarkson. “I know the country is backing me up. I hope I will be able to visit them in the future.”

Even the most diehard Laker fans won’t ever know that Clarkson is Pinoy/Asian-American. And seeing that Clarkson is basically an unknown player outside of Los Angeles and doesn’t “look” mixed Asian, the majority of casual fans won’t know any better.

His mother is clearly half-White/half-Filipino. She has light eyes and Western features. She looks like a typical half-Filipino in that she looks more Latina than Asian. Although many Filipinos claim Spanish ancestry, how many full Filipinos do you see with her look?